Grade 3 maths · telling time

Telling Time at the Stables

Read analogue clocks and work out the daily schedule at Maple Hollow Stables — so the horses are fed, groomed, and exercised on time.

Section 1 · Reading the analogue clock

Reading Hours and Minutes

By the end of this section I can read an analogue clock to the hour, half hour, and five minutes — so I can tell exactly when each horse's task begins.

Success criteria 0 / 4 ticked

Tick each one when you can do it without help.

1A The two hands of the clock

Every analogue clock has two hands. The short hand is the hour hand, and the long hand is the minute hand.

Hand jobs at the stables

hour hand → short minute hand → long 12 numbers = hours 60 marks = minutes

The hour hand moves slowly — one full turn takes 12 hours. The minute hand moves faster — one full turn takes 60 minutes, which equals one hour.

O'clock at feeding time

Hour hand points to 7. Short hand = the hour.
Minute hand points to 12. 12 means "zero minutes past" = o'clock.
Read it as: 7:00 (seven o'clock). Morning feed at the stables.

Interactive · set the stable clock

7
0
7:00

Use the steppers to move the hands. Notice how the hour hand creeps between numbers as the minutes grow.

Check yourself

The farrier visits at three o'clock. Write that time using digits and a colon (for example, 7:00).

O'clock means the minute hand is on the 12 — so the minutes are 00.
Hour is 3, minutes are 00, so we write 3:00.

Turnout time is half past four. Write this with digits and a colon.

Half past means 30 minutes have gone by — the minute hand sits on the 6.
Half past four = 4 hours and 30 minutes = 4:30.

1B Counting minutes in fives

Each big number on the clock stands for 5 minutes. Count around the face in fives to read the minutes.

The five-minute hop

12 → 0 1 → 5 2 → 10 3 → 15 6 → 30 9 → 45

Skip-count by fives, starting at the 12. When the minute hand lands on a number, that number times five is the minutes past the hour.

Grooming at 9:25

Minute hand points to the 5. The 5 on the clock face.
Skip count: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. Five hops of five.
Hour hand is just past the 9. So it's 25 minutes past 9.
Read it as: 9:25. Grooming begins.

Check yourself

The minute hand points to the 4 and the hour hand is just past the 6. Write the time with digits and a colon.

Count by fives around the face until you reach the 4.
Four hops of five = 20 minutes. Hour is 6, so the time is 6:20.

The minute hand points to the 9 and the hour hand is almost at the 9. Write the time with digits and a colon.

Nine hops of five gives the minutes — that's also called "quarter to".
9 × 5 = 45 minutes. The hour is still 8 (the hand hasn't reached 9 yet), so 8:45.

Section 2 · The stable schedule

Putting Time to Work

By the end of this section I can match times on a clock to events in a daily schedule — so I can keep the horses on their routine.

Success criteria 0 / 3 ticked

Tick each one when you can do it without help.

2A A day at Maple Hollow

A stable runs on a schedule. Reading the clock tells you what is happening right now — and what comes next.

The daily routine

  • 6:00 — Morning feed
  • 7:30 — Mucking out stalls
  • 9:25 — Grooming
  • 10:00 — Riding lesson
  • 12:00 — Noon rest
  • 3:15 — Afternoon turnout
  • 5:00 — Evening feed

Which event happens at 9:25?

Scan the schedule for 9:25. Match the digits exactly.
Found: Grooming at 9:25. That's the event.

Interactive · spot the event

10
0
10:00
  • 6:00 — Morning feed
  • 7:30 — Mucking out stalls
  • 9:25 — Grooming
  • 10:00 — Riding lesson
  • 12:00 — Noon rest
  • 3:15 — Afternoon turnout
  • 5:00 — Evening feed

Check yourself

Looking at the schedule, what event happens at 10:00?

Find the row on the schedule that starts with 10:00.
The row 10:00 — Riding lesson matches, so the event is the riding lesson.

The minute hand is on the 12 and the hour hand points to the 5. This is the evening feed. Write the time with digits and a colon.

Minute hand on 12 means zero minutes — it's something o'clock.
Hour hand on 5, minute hand on 12 = 5:00 (five o'clock).

What happens at 12:00 on the stable schedule?

Look for the row that begins with 12:00.
The row 12:00 — Noon rest matches, so the answer is noon rest.

2B Matching analogue and digital

The same time can be shown two ways: on a clock face (analogue) and with digits (digital). Both tell the same story.

Two faces, one time

analogue → hands on a face digital → digits with a colon

When the minute hand is on the 3, that's 15 minutes past — written __:15. When it's on the 9, that's 45 minutes past — written __:45.

From face to digits

Minute hand on the 3 → 15 minutes. 3 × 5 = 15.
Hour hand just past the 2. Hour is 2.
Digital: 2:15. Quarter past two — afternoon hay delivery.

Check yourself

The minute hand is on the 6 and the hour hand is halfway between the 7 and the 8. Write the digital time.

Minute hand on the 6 means 30 minutes — that's "half past".
6 × 5 = 30 minutes. Hour is 7, so the digital time is 7:30.

The minute hand is on the 3 and the hour hand is just past the 3. Write the digital time for afternoon turnout.

Count by fives up to the 3 on the clock face.
3 × 5 = 15 minutes. Hour is 3, so 3:15.

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